Competing successfully with the chains

An experienced eye for custom: Pascal Koch.
Life is tough for any operator who is not part of a chain in the speciality trade in France. Powerful companies like Jardiland, Truffaut and Gamm Vert have the advertising clout and necessary small change to be able to strengthen their position in the French pet product trade in stages. The result is that many owner-operated speciality businesses are being pushed out of the market year on year. One of the reasons for this is that these stores only have a small retail area, or they have too few parking spaces. Pascal Koch can tell you a thing or two about that: before the experienced pet dealer decided to open a 1,200 m² speciality store two years ago, he ran two comparatively small shops in Hagenau, which were scarcely capable of surviving in the long term in view of growing competition.
In his new store, located in a well-frequented commercial zone to the west of Hagenau, a town of 30,000 inhabitants, Pascal Koch stocks a full range of goods, with the emphasis on live animals. Thus it’s no wonder that fishkeeping is responsible for 35 per cent of his overall sales. In contrast to the local competition, which includes the Botanic garden centre, the product range in the Naturama store also features an extensive range of aquarium technology – and there is nothing for miles around to match the huge selection of aquariums on offer, which are presented on a gallery. Apart from common species of freshwater fish, Naturama also stocks a wide variety of cold-water and marine specimens.  
Another area in which Pascal Koch and his sales team of nine differ from their rivals is angling accessories. This segment, accounting for 25 per cent of Naturama’s sales, is accorded a high priority in the store. In the dog and cat sector, alongside the familiar premium brands and accessory products, Koch sells puppies and kittens that come exclusively from French breeders and are only sold following worming and vaccination and once they have been given a thorough examination by a vet. The store also has a range of small animals, birds and terrarium pets.
Favourably located in a well frequented commercial zone: Naturama in Hagenau.
According to Pascal Koch, his experienced sales staff are his trump card, so to speak, in the contest with the big chains. Some of his employees have worked in his stores for many years and are known to the customers for the competent specialist advice they provide.
The current economic low in France, which has so…